On Wednesday, July 15, 2026, the border fence between Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar was fully removed under a new treaty signed by the European Union and the United Kingdom. This historic event ended years of post-Brexit border controls that had affected thousands of daily cross-border travelers.

The treaty, signed in Brussels by European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, British Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, and Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, aims to deliver economic and trade certainty for Gibraltar's people and businesses, safeguard British sovereignty, and protect the autonomous operation of UK military facilities.

The deal effectively integrates Gibraltar into the Schengen area, with UK and Spanish officials now jointly checking passports at Gibraltar's airport and port instead of at the land border used daily by 15,000 Spanish workers. Thousands of people who travel daily between southern Spain and Gibraltar will no longer have to cross a physical border.

Crowds on both sides of the frontier celebrated the reopening, waving flags, dancing, and holding banners proclaiming "At last, no more queues." Footage showed Chief Minister Fabian Picardo embracing La Línea mayor Juan José Franco as they crossed the border together, while British customs officers left their posts to applause.

Maros Sefcovic called the moment special, marking the removal of a fence after four years of negotiations. Picardo described Gibraltar as having become a "digital fortress" equipped with new cameras and police.

Gibraltar was excluded from the 2021 UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement due to its unique status outside the EU customs union and Schengen area, creating the prospect of a hard border for the 15,000 people who cross daily. After more than three and a half years of negotiations, the EU and UK reached this agreement in 2025.

The border crossing, ceded to Britain in 1713, remains a point of sovereignty dispute between Spain and Britain.

Sources